Efrem Podgaits (1949-); RUS   

The composer Efrem Podgaits was born in 1949 in Vinnitsa (Ukraine) and received his musical training at the Moscow Conservatory, where he studied composition in the classes of Y.M.Butsko and N.N.Sidelnikov. Since the completion of his studies in 1974, he has written a large number of works for a wide variety of forces: symphonies, concertos, operas, chamber music, as well as music for cinema and the stage.

Music performed by children has a special place in his output. Vesna, with which he has developed a very close working relationship, has given the first performances of most of his choral works, some of which have been major events on the Russian musical scene. Vesna conductor, Alexander Ponomarev has written that the children's collaboration with Efrem Podgaits "has brought a new dimension to their artistic life, a world of imagery and feelings linked to the most uplifting dream-like states, poetic fantasy, the love of nature and the world around them."

Podgaits' style is rooted in a profoundly philosophical approach to life, and draws on a variety of different musical languages, which are blended together and modified in a strikingly personal manner. Its often complex rhythms and modernistic writing remain highly accessible, for these features are used to translate Podgaits' inner world, one steeped in poetry and a love for humanity.